WWE Battleground 2016: Smart Builds for PPV's Top Feuds

WWE has a long list of narrative to-dos in order to have Battleground 2016 reach its full potential.

The company has to expand John Cena vs. The Club to include new combatants. It has to accelerate Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte after dragging its feet for so long. WWE must also intensify The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family storyline to avoid having it become comic relief.

Every one of those tales features top-notch performers and matchups sure to impress once the bell rings. The more WWE can deepen the rivalries beforehand, though, the better. 

With some crafty booking moves, WWE could both elevate the Battleground pay-per-view on July 24 and generate loads of momentum heading into SummerSlam.

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

For John Cena's battle with AJ Styles and The Club to be effective, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have to be booked differently. As it stands, Styles' buddies are being pushed aside way too easily and stand in the background far too often.

As Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net wrote: "Anderson and Gallows are henchmen for Styles and it doesn't seem like WWE wants to make them into more."

Changing that would amplify this rivalry. Give The Club more wins. Have the trio beat up on people backstage and cause general havoc. 

The three-on-one advantage The Club has over Cena would be more convincing that way. And it would force Cena to enlist some allies along the way.

That'd provide a great chance to expand the story to include other names. Have Cesaro join Cena's squad. Bring back Neville, and let him fight alongside Cena.

Going this route would give WWE a chance to hold off on Cena vs. Styles II. Battleground could feature a six-man elimination bout that serves as a precursor to the Cena-Styles rematch at SummerSlam.

The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family

In its early stages, The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family feud has been hilarious. The tag team champs have mocked the monsters from the swamp with their usual comic fervor.

To get the most out of this narrative, though, WWE has to balance out that comedy with more darkness. Bray Wyatt's crew needs to be presented as more dangerous, more vicious, to offset being the butt of The New Day's jokes.

We saw a touch of that on Thursday's SmackDown, when Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan earned a dominant win against a pair of lowly local competitors. WWE needs to showcase those bruisers more, having them run over The Lucha Dragons and NXT's Hype Bros. Remind the audience The New Day is sticking its head in a lion's mouth by messing with these guys.

And Xavier Woods should continue to be the center of the rivalry's key subplot.

The trombone-playing member of The New Day has seemed mesmerized by Wyatt's words. Go with this. Not in a cartoony way, but by having Woods feel unsure of himself and disturbed by his interactions with The Eater of Worlds, much like John Cena was during his 2014 feud with Wyatt.

That would add an intriguing layer to the story and play up Wyatt's cult-leader charisma. Plus it would give The New Day one more reason to want to take down The Wyatt Family.

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

This is supposed to be the end of a long rivalry. This is supposed to be the climax of a story of two former friends who are archenemies. Focusing on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's fury is the only way to make the feud feel like those things.

John Russo wrote for the Press of Atlantic City: "We know that as long as they are on the same show, no amount of security, referees and superstars can keep them from tearing each other apart."

That's what WWE should have them do, night in and night out, until Battleground. Don't mess around with tag team action. Just let them off their leashes and have them fight like wild dogs.

Owens vs. Zayn needs to have a healthy number of backstage brawls to drive home their animosity for each other.

To build on that, WWE should find ways to have them crush each other's dreams, as they have done in the past. Owens powerbombed Zayn earlier this year to prevent him from entering a Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender's match. Zayn smashed Owens' head on a ladder, causing him to lost his Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.

More of this needs to happen.

Have Zayn be line for a IC title shot and Owens ambush him beforehand. Have Owens and Zayn enter a Battle Royal to determine Rusev's next challenger for his United States Championship, and have the heel oust his babyface rival after being eliminated himself.

With the (presumably temporary) finish line ahead for Owens vs. Zayn, WWE needs to put its foot on the gas and not let up until Battleground.

Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks

WWE has some catching up to do when it comes to Sasha Banks.

Banks didn't wrestle on Raw for nine straight weeks, per CageMatch.net. The company didn't help her generate momentum ahead of this expected title match. And now WWE has to do so in a hurry.

Have The Boss go on a winning streak. Let her feast on the rest of the division while Charlotte finds excuses not to accept her challenge. Make it clear Banks deserves a crack at the title by way of blasting Summer Rae, Paige, Alicia Fox and Dana Brooke.

WWE can't have these two collide at Battleground in singles action. That's too special a match to be on a low-level pay-per-view. Instead, create some sort of holdover bout for Banks and Charlotte at Battleground, saving their anticipated clash for SummerSlam.

A good option would be for Battleground to host a Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender's match with Charlotte looking on. The champ could insert her enforcer, Brooke, to try to make sure Banks doesn't snag the victory. 

The weeks ahead should be used to crank up anticipation for Banks vs. Charlotte and for The Boss to stockpile momentum.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Roman Reigns' suspension has handcuffed WWE ahead of Battleground. What was supposed to be a story of three former brothers-in-arms colliding instead has to focus on Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.

Luckily, those two Superstars hate each other's guts. They battled for much of the second half of 2014. Ambrose shredded Rollins' dreams at Money in the Bank, ending The Architect's second WWE world heavyweight title reign in a matter of minutes.

There is plenty to work with there.

WWE should rely on that history leading up to Battleground. Show more clips of their past brawls. Have Ambrose go off about how he hates Rollins and has done since The Architect betrayed The Shield two years ago.

The company would be wise to also showcase how resilient Ambrose is. Having him gut out a match while one of his legs is barely working has created great pathos before. Go to that well again, having him fight off his opponents after suffering an injurious backstage beatdown from Rollins.

As for how to include Rollins in all of this, WWE should remind fans of how dominant he has been. Paint him as the favorite going into the Triple Threat match.

Have Big Show or Sheamus talk up how tough of a foe he is, how fighting him was like nothing they'd never previously experienced. Not having Reigns around during his suspension should be seen as a chance to increase his mystique.